resume/.claude/skills/job-search/CRITERIA-CHECKLIST.md

Job Criteria Checklist

Quick reference for evaluating whether a position matches your requirements.

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Hard Requirements (Must-Have)

These are non-negotiable. Skip if ANY are missing or violated.

✅ Remote Status

• 100% remote OR
• Work from home (no office required) OR
• Async-first with occasional travel

Skip if:

• ❌ "Flexible remote" but office-based
• ❌ "Remote but HQ in [city]"
• ❌ "Hybrid" with required office days
• ❌ Relocation required

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✅ On-Call Status

• No on-call mentioned
• No pager duty mentioned
• No 24/7 support mentioned
• No "production ownership" in incident response context

Skip immediately if:

• ❌ "On-call rotation"
• ❌ "Pager duty"
• ❌ "24/7 support"
• ❌ "Incident response team"
• ❌ "Weekend on-call"
• ❌ "Production ownership requires on-call"

This is a hard requirement. One mention = reject.

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✅ Salary

• Base salary $130K+ (minimum)
• Salary is transparent or negotiable
• If equity offered: solid base salary (not equity-heavy)

Check:

• Posted salary is $130K+, OR
• Company pays that range for the role, OR
• Willing to negotiate to $130K+

Skip if:

• ❌ Salary $120K or below
• ❌ "Competitive" with no range
• ❌ Mostly equity, low base

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✅ Role Type

• Backend Engineer OR
• Platform Engineer OR
• Infrastructure Engineer OR
• Site Reliability Engineer (if not heavy on-call)

Skip if:

• ❌ Full-stack (unless clear backend focus)
• ❌ Junior Developer
• ❌ DevOps only (different focus)
• ❌ Systems Administrator

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✅ Technology Stack

• At least one: Python, Go, Rust, Java, C
• REST APIs mentioned or implied
• Modern infrastructure tools (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, etc.)

Preferred stack:

• ✓✓ Python + REST APIs + Kubernetes
• ✓✓ Go + REST APIs + Kubernetes
• ✓✓ Rust + REST APIs + distributed systems
• ✓ Java + REST APIs (learnable from Python)
• ✓ C + systems programming (learnable)
• ✓ JavaScript/TypeScript (if full-stack opportunity)

Skip if:

• ❌ Only C++/C# unless very compelling
• ❌ Only legacy languages (COBOL, Fortran, etc.)
• ❌ Frontend-heavy with minimal backend

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Strong Positives (+1 point each)

Company & Culture

• Explicitly mentions "async-first" or "async culture"
• Remote-first company (not traditional company with remote option)
• Company founded specifically as remote
• Multiple office locations or fully distributed team
• Clear communication about work-life balance
• "No crunch" or "sustainable pace" mentioned

Role Quality

• Clear role description and responsibilities
• Growing engineering team (hiring actively)
• Opportunity to learn new tech mentioned
• Mentorship or growth path mentioned
• Architecture/design work emphasized
• API design or system design mentioned

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary at top of range ($180K+)
• Equity offered (if profitable/stable company)
• Generous vacation/PTO (unlimited or 25+ days)
• Professional development budget mentioned
• Flexible hours mentioned
• Parental leave or family benefits

Mission & Impact

• Mission statement aligns with your values
• Company solves real problems (not just hype)
• Profitable or well-funded (stability)
• Growing rapidly (opportunity for impact)
• Social impact or meaningful work mentioned

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Red Flags (-1 point each)

Culture Red Flags

• "Startup hustle" or "high energy" mentioned
• "Move fast and break things" philosophy
• "Startup mentality" emphasized
• "On-call is learning opportunity" framing
• Heavy emphasis on long hours
• "Passionate" mentioned 5+ times
• "Rocket ship", "unicorn", "rapid growth" without context

Role Red Flags

• Vague role description
• Too many responsibilities (5+ distinct areas)
• Heavy on meetings or "collaboration"
• Management/mentoring heavily emphasized
• "Wear many hats" or jack-of-all-trades
• Recent team departures (from research)
• High turnover rate (5+ people left in 1 year)

Compensation Red Flags

• Mostly equity, low base salary
• "Equity is the real comp" messaging
• Salary negotiable only "for right candidate"
• Significantly below market ($100K for your experience)
• No mentioning of benefits
• Unlimited PTO (often means less vacation)

Company Red Flags

• Negative Glassdoor reviews (3.5 stars or below)
• Comments about work-life balance issues
• Recent major departures or layoffs
• Funding running low or burn rate high
• Legal issues or regulatory problems
• Poor remote culture reviews

Remote Red Flags

• "Remote but in [time zone]" requirement
• Occasional "required" office days
• "Mostly remote" with unstated expectations
• Timezone restrictions
• Limited async communication
• Heavy emphasis on meetings/sync time

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Fit Score Calculation

Use this to score positions 1-10:

Start at 5 points (baseline)

Add points for:

• +1: Preferred tech stack (Python, Go, Rust)
• +1: Explicitly remote-first / async culture
• +1: Salary at top of range ($180K+)
• +1: Mission alignment (meaningful work)
• +1: Strong company fundamentals (profitable, stable)
• +1: Team stability (low turnover)
• +1: Growth opportunity (learning or advancement)
• +1: Excellent benefits (25+ PTO, parental leave, dev budget)
• +1: API/system design work mentioned
• +1: Architecture/infrastructure focus

Subtract points for:

• -1: Secondary tech stack (Java, JavaScript)
• -1: Traditional company with remote option (not remote-first)
• -1: Salary below $150K
• -1: Mission not aligned
• -1: Early-stage startup (high risk)
• -1: Team appears to be high-churn
• -1: Limited growth opportunity
• -1: "On-call" mentioned (ALSO SKIP THIS, hard requirement)
• -1: Heavy management expectations
• -1: Vague role description

Final Score

• 9-10: Perfect match — Apply immediately
• 8: Excellent fit — Apply enthusiastically
• 7: Good fit — Apply with customized materials
• 6: Okay fit — Apply if meeting quota
• 5: Neutral — Consider if other criteria stand out
• Below 5: Skip — Not a good use of time

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Quick Evaluation (2 minutes)

Use this if you want to quickly evaluate a position:

1. Remote?              YES / NO → If NO, skip
2. On-call?             YES / NO → If YES, skip
3. Salary $130K+?       YES / NO → If NO, skip
4. Backend role?        YES / NO → If NO, skip
5. Has Python/Go/Rust?  YES / NO → If NO, maybe skip
6. Red flags?           YES / NO → If YES, skip

If all ✓ (except #5):
  → Verify on company site
  → Add to dashboard
  → Build resume

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Position Evaluation Template

When you find a promising position:

Basic Info:

• Company: _____________
• Role: _____________
• Posted: _____________
• Salary: _____________
• Link: _____________

Must-Have Check:

• Remote: YES / NO
• On-call: None / Minimal / Mentioned / Mentioned heavily
• Salary: $_____ (meets $130K+? YES/NO)
• Backend role: YES / NO

Tech Stack:

• Languages: _____________
• Frameworks: _____________
• Infrastructure: _____________
• Fit: ✓ Preferred / ✓ Acceptable / ✗ Not ideal

Culture:

• Red flags found: YES / NO
• If YES, list: _____________
• Strong positives: YES / NO
• If YES, list: _____________

Fit Score: 1-10 ___

• Apply immediately (9-10)
• Apply with care (7-8)
• Apply if quota allows (6)
• Skip (5 or below)

Decision: APPLY / SKIP Reason: _____________

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During Application

After you decide to apply:

1. Use /build-resume to generate customized materials
2. Double-check on-call in full job description (final check)
3. Verify on company site before submitting
4. Log in tracker with date, company, role, fit score
5. Set follow-up reminder for 1 week after

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Last Updated: March 18, 2026